Hinged floor rack



" ug-11,1942 J.S.LUNDVALL 2,293,020

HINGED FLOOR RACK Filed Oct. 51/194; 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Aug. 11, 1942 HINGED FLOOR RACK .iohn S. Lundvall, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 31, 1941, Serial No. 417,221

2 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in hinge means, and more particularly to hinge means for floor racks of refrigerator cars. An object is to provide improved hinge means, for pivotally mounting floor racks in refrigerator cars Whereby said racks may be readily detached from the car for repairs or renewal, or removed from the car for types of lading which do not require floor racks.

The conventional floor rack hinge generally comprises a hinge butt mounted upon the wall of the car, a hinge strap mounted upon a portion of the floor rack, and a bolt pivotally connecting the hinge butt and hinge strap whereby the rack may be swung from a horizontal position adjacent the car floor to a vertical position adjacent the wall of the car. To remove a floor rack of this type requires the removal of the pivot bolt, which is usually held in place by a threaded nut. In a large percentage of cases the bolt and nut are corroded to an extent where it requires that the bolt be sawed or otherwise broken before the bolt can be removed. The operation of removing such a bolt is difiicult due to the close working conditions and the replacement thereof is also I difiicult for the same reasons.

One method of overcoming this difficulty has been to use a plain (unthreaded) bolt and insert a cotter through the end portion of the bolt. The cotters became corroded to an extent where they sometimes fell out of the bolt and, in some cases, would be broken off leaving a portion of the cotter solidly corroded in the hole portion of the bolt. Under the most favorable conditions the application or removal of a floor rack hinge bolt has proven to be diflicult, due to the general inaccessibility and the effect of corrosion which is common in all types of refrigerator cars and which quickly renders most operating parts inoperative.

The principal object of this invention is to provide improved means for pivotally connecting two elements of a floor rack hinge without the use of bolts or pins for this purpose.

A further object is to provide improved means for securing the two elements (hinge butts) of a floor rack hinge in pivoting relationship whereby the said elements may be quickly assembled or dismantled without the use of special tools.

A further object is to provide improved means for pivotally connecting the two elements of a floor rack hinge by means of an inexpensive metal clip.

Another object is the provision of clip means for pivotally connecting the two elements of a floor rack hinge, said clip means being particularly adaptable for application and removal in the unusually close working conditions normally obtaining on refrigerator cars, adjacent the floor rack hinges,

ther objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View taken transversely of a car, showing a hinged fioor rack on one side of the car in lowered position and a hinged floor rack on the other side of the car in raised position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hinge element which is secured to the floor rack.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hinge element which is secured to the car.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the clip member which pivotally unifies the two hinge elements shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken along line 1-1 of Fig. 6. 7

When the car is used for lading requiring ventilation or circulation of air under the lading, the floor of the car is covered with a floor rack structure comprising spaced apart slats supported upon stringers which rest upon the car floor. The floor rack structure commonly comprises a plurality of rack sections extending in a series longitudinally of the car and between the car wall and longitudinal center of the car, a series of the sections being on each side of the longitudinal center of car and being pivotally mount ed adjacent aligned margins to the wall of the car or to the car fioor adjacent the car wall. I prefer to mount the floor racks to the car wall in order to avoid the use of bolts through the floor, as this very often causes leakage of moisture through the floor and into the floor insulation.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates the floor and I2 the side walls of the car, which may be of conventional insulated construction. The floor rack sections [4, which will be hereinafter referred to as the floor rack, may comprise a plurality of stringers iii in spaced relationship with each other resting upon the floor of the car Ill in edgewise engagement therewith. A plurality of spaced apart slats l8 may be secured in supported engagement with the stringers [6 adapted as a lading floor. One of the stringers 16 may be disposed in parallel adjacent relationship with the side wall 12 of the car and may be provided with a hinge element 20. A second hinge element 22 may be affixed to the adjacent car wall 12, the elements 25 and 22 being adapted to cooperate with each other to pivotally and swingably secure the floor rack to the car.

In the drawings are shown a floor rack having stringers l6 extending longitudinally of the car, this being the preferred arrangement of the stringers for cars having the conventional ice bunker in each end of the car, in order to pro- Vide air ducts under the floor racks extending longitudinally of the car. In cars using the socalled overhead ice bunkers (ice containers adjacent and underlying the ceiling of the car) the floor rack stringers may extend laterally of the car in order to provide transversely extending air ducts under the floor racks and it will be understood that my invention will be applicable to the floor racks and wall of such cars simply by revising the hinge element 26 where it is attached to the stringer.

The structure described, thus far, is not claimed as the present invention, the essential features of the invention being found in the respective improvements hereinafter described. More particularly, these essential features are round in the structure of the two principal parts of the hinge and the means for operatively integrating said principal parts.

The hinge member 20 may comprise a ver tically extending plate member 2d adapted for securement to a side wall of the stringer It in flatwise engagement therewith; a pair of vertically extending spaced apart walls 28 projecting laterally from and in perpendicular relationship with the plate member 24; and a pintle 30 extending between and having its end portions afiixed to the opposed walls 28, said pintle being in parallel spaced relationship with the plate member 24 and adjacent the upper portion thereof. The hinge member 25 may be affixed to stringer It by means of bolt members 26 extending therethrough.

The hinge member 22 may comprise a vertically extending plate member 32 adapted for flatwise engagement with the wall [2 of the car and may be secured thereto by means of bolt members 34; a wall portion 36 in outwardly extending parallel spaced relationship with and being affixed to the plate member 32 by means of parallel spaced apart walls 38, the walls 38 being in planes perpendicular to the plane of the plate member 32 and the wall portion 36, and being unified therewith in position to support the wall portion 36. The plate member 32 may be provided with a laterally extending horizontal shelf portion 49 adjacent its upper margin, said shelf portion 35 having an edge extending parallel with and terminating short of the upper edge of the wall portion 35. The hinge member 22 may have an upwardly opening U-shaped trough portion 42 adapted to receive and provide a pivotal bearing for the pintle 35 of the hinge member 25 when the hinge is assembled. The trough portion 52 may have parallel spaced apart side walls adjacent its upper portion, one of said walls terminating in an edge or margin 44 in parallel adjacent upstanding relationship with the edge of the shelf portion t0, the other of said side walls terminating within the upper edge of the wall portion 35. A pair of vertical spaced apart guide ribs 46 may be provided along the opposed vertical margins of the wall portion 36, said guide ribs extending outwardly from the face of the wall portion 36.

A clip 38 may be provided to maintain the hinge members 20 and 22 in pivotal engagement with each other and may comprise an elongated metal plate having a main body portion 50 adapted for flatwise abutment with the wall portion 35 intermediate the guide ribs 46 thereof. The body portion 55 may be provided with an angular bent portion 52 adapted to lie in a horizontal plane across the top of the trough portion 42 whereby to close said trough portion. The

free margin of the bent portion 52 may have a downwardly extending flange 54 adapted for interlocking holding engagement with the upstanding edge or margin 44 of the member 22 adapted to prevent the main body portion of the clip 48 from moving away from the wall portion 36 after the hinge is assembled. The lower portion of the clip 58 may be provided with a flange 55 adapted to be sprung into interlocking holding engagement with the lower edge of the wall portion 36. A re-bend 58 may be provided adjacent the free edge of the flange 55 in a downwardly extending direction adapted to be engaged by a pry bar or other suitable tool as a means of forcing the lower end of the clip 53 out of holding engagement with the hinge member 22, it being understood that a portion of the flange 56 will be above the lower edge of the wall portion 35 when the clip 28 is in assembled position. The main body portion 55 may be provided with a transverse bend 65 adapted to provide resiliency longitudinally of said main body portion when the clip is being forced into assembled position with the hinge member 22. I have shown the bend 61] as a transverse corrugation but I contemplate the use of various shaped bends in order to provide the required give or resiliency indicated under given conditions. In Fig. 4 of the drawings I show, as an alternate, a re-band 55 adjacent the flange 54 of the clip t8, and in Fig. 3 of the drawings I show, as an alternate, a detent 62 extending upwardly from the shelf portion 45 of the hinge member 22. The re-bend 55 and the detent 62 may be added to the clip 48 and the hinge member 22 if desired and I have shown these elements in Figs. 3 and 4 only, as they are intended as alternates, to be used if a more secure interlocking means is desired between the end of the bent portion 52 and the hinge member 22.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described herein, as numerous changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. Hinge means for swingably mounting a floor rack in a car, including a hinge butt affixed to the car and provided with an outwardly disposed U-shaped slot comprising spaced apart upstanding side walls connected by a transverse bottom wall; a hinge member affixed to said rack and provided with an outwardly disposed pintle adapted for pivotal engagement with said slot; clip means for closing said slot comprising a metal strap lying across the upper ends of said side walls, spaced apart depending flanged portions on said strap, one of said flanged portions having interlocking holding engagement with an upstanding detent on said hinge butt adjacent one of said upper ends adapted to maintain said strap against longitudinal movement in one direction,

the other flanged portion terminating in a reflanged end portion having interlocking holding engagement with a second detent on said hinge butt adapted to maintain said other flanged portion against longitudinal movement in an upward direction, said reflanged end portion being selectively springable into and out of holding engagement with the adjacent detent whereby said clip means may be held in or removed from its slot closing position, respectively.

2. Hinge means for swingably mounting a floor rack in a car, including a hinge butt affixed to the car and provided with an outwardly disposed U-shaped slot comprising spaced apart upstanding walls connected by a transverse bottom wall; a hinge member affixed to said rack and provided with an outwardly disposed pintle,

adapted for pivotal engagement with said slot; clip means for closing said slot comprising a metal strap lying across the upper ends of said upstanding walls, spaced apart depending flanged portions on said strap embracing said upstanding walls adjacent said upper ends adapted to maintain said strap against longitudinal movement, one of said flanged portions being longer than the other and. terminating below said slot in a re-flanged end portion having interlocked engagement with an adjacent detent portion on i said hinge butt whereby to maintain said one of said flanged portions against upward movement, said re-flanged end portion being selectively springable into and out of interlocked engagement with said detent portion whereby said clip means may be secured in or released from its slot closing position, respectively; said one of said flanged portions having a sinuous transverse configuration intermediate its end portions adapted to provide resiliency lengthwise thereof.

JOHN S. LUNDVALL. 

